Thierry Henry’s past comments suggest £60m target would be more of a killer than Viktor Gyokeres

Viktor Gyokeres has done what he was signed by Arsenal to do.

Twenty-one goals in his debut season, the club’s top scorer, and helping them win the Premier League.

He has his flaws technically, but in a season where Arsenal’s other centre-forward options were plagued by injury, Gyokeres was needed. Simple as.

Nobody can question the Swede’s effort. But the questions about his ability to deliver in the very biggest moments, against the very best sides, still linger.

Gyokeres scored eleven of his fourteen Premier League goals against bottom-half sides. And away from home against top-half opposition, his record was considerably lacking.

Mikel Arteta chose Kai Havertz over him for the Champions League final, which says it all.

12 months after signing him from Sporting CP for £64million, Arsenal still need a striker who is a ‘killer’ when it matters most.

And Thierry Henry, a man who knows a thing or two about that, has identified exactly that quality in their reported target.

Victor Osimhen has Thierry Henry’s approval

Andrea Berta is reportedly leaning on his contacts in Turkey this summer, and that had led to Victor Osimhen’s name cropping up in negotiations involving Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri.

Martinelli’s camp has now made it clear that he has no interest in moving to Galatasaray, but whether that rules out a move for Osimhen is unclear.

Speaking to the Nigerian on CBS Sports in February after Galatasaray’s Champions League win over Juventus, Henry couldn’t hide his admiration.

“This is what I was saying, I want to talk to you about your mindset,” he said. “I saw it in the African Cup of Nations, and I saw it today. You want more.

“When did that switch in your head? Not just being there and scoring goals, you want more.”

Osimhen went on to describe how he had to personally motivate his Galatasaray teammates before the game in Turin, telling them not to be timid, not to sit back, not to be scared of Juventus’ crowd or reputation.

This isn’t to demean Gyokeres’ mentality, but Osimhen especially seems to embrace the pressure of hostile away grounds.

That could be huge for Arsenal, who only won away at one of the four sides that finished directly below them.

At times, particularly in these bigger games, Arsenal have lacked an undeniable leader up front. Someone who can single-handedly alter the emotional momentum of a match.

Osimhen could add exactly that to this side, if Berta can pull it off.